30 Reasons to be Thankful: part 1

I posted last year (WOW a whole year of blogging!!!) how much I love Thanksgiving because it is the one time throughout the year that is dedicated to being grateful for all we have in our lives.  I hate that we reserve our feelings of thankfulness for this one time, but I LOVE how the new trend is to post one thing you are thankful for each day during the month of November.  But let’s be real, I can’t remember how to make coffee anymore (new mom brain) so remembering to post daily is not a reality I can envision! So here is my list for the first half of the month 🙂

1. I am grateful for my Mr. — there are too many reasons to list, but for this go around I am most grateful for his ability to glide into parenting seamlessly.  He handles school, Maddy, visitors, and ME with what seems to be ease.  I am constantly in awe of this ability- I also get frustrated by this ability because it seems that nothing rattles him.  And… for that I am also grateful for, if we both were easily rattled then our life would be extremely hectic!!!
2. I am grateful for the blessing that is our daughter.  We prayed for 40+ weeks to have a healthy and happy baby and our prayers were answered even with an added blessing of a full head of hair!!
3. I am grateful that my entire family was able to meet Maddy within 30 hours of her being born.  It is so amazing that my mom and dad met her the night she was born, and then Jared and McKenzy the following morning.  Since we all live so far apart (Alaska, Wisconsin & Louisiana) it was always a concern of mine that we would have our baby alone.  But we were not!!! It was very exciting to have those special memories.
4. I am BEYOND grateful that my mom and dad were able to spend the first two weeks with us and help us settle into having this baby and me into being alone with her during the day.
5. I am grateful for our new house, it has been a great and easy transition that leaves us more than happy with our growing family and new needs!
6. I am grateful for family and friends who have come to visit and meet Maddy.  Everyone has been so excited to meet her and it has been a blast to make these introductions to our friends who have been along for the ride since last winter!
7. I am grateful that Maddy has been able to meet three of her four great grandparents!! How special to have these memories for all three of us!!
8. I am grateful for Pampers and the little blue line that tells us she needs to be changed without having to open her up!!
9. I am grateful for the new Target that opened up near the house (this may sound weird….) but I love how clean it is and how it is filled with other yoga pant wearing moms with strollers during the early afternoon!
10. I am grateful that Maddy was able to spend time with her other Grandma, Justin’s mom as she hasn’t been to visit us before, this was a special time for Justin to share with his mom!  We are looking forward to his brothers coming into town within the next couple of months!!
11. I am grateful for a warm, reliable suv!  Our decision to switch to a more family oriented vehicle has really paid off.  “My” “new” car is perfect for me getting around town with Maddy and our two pugs!!
12. I am grateful for Maddy’s closet!! HAHA! It is so fun dressing her up in new clothes each day and of course taking loads of pictures!!
13. I am grateful for social smiles!!! I love seeing Maddy smile when she sees me coming, or gets picked up by one of us!
14. I am grateful for our pugs! They keep me going outside and on walks even when I am not feeling up to it or it’s chilly out! Also, no matter what, they are always ecstatic to see us when we get home and all they require is us to feed them (priority) and give them lots of love!
15. I am grateful that I had the vision to start this blog as now I have a year of our lives semi-documented!!!